Job Search

Blog

Microsoft XP’s massive cybersecurity problem

8/04/2014 by

Microsoft will cut off support to its 12-year-old operating system Windows XP at about 1 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, leaving more than a quarter of the world’s computers effectively undefended against hackers and cybercriminals.

And because outdated software renders the computers that run it vulnerable to malicious programs deployed by hackers, that’s bad news for everyone in today’s ultra-connected world.

Security experts liken the estimated 500 million computers still running the antiquated XP program to a group of unvaccinated children: Their vulnerability to infection puts at risk the health of the whole population.

“It’s a matter of herd immunity,” said Gary McGraw, chief technology officer of Virginia-based software security firm Cigital, “If there’s a group using old, outdated, unpatched software, it makes us all collectively more vulnerable.”

For users at home, the risks are bad enough: Outdated software means their computers can be infected to send cybercrooks password and login information for their bank or online shopping accounts. But for companies, a single unpatched machine is a back door hackers can use to get around expensive security measures and take over an entire network.

Microsoft says the software has long passed its use-by date and wants customers to upgrade by buying a more recent and more secure operating system, like Windows 7 or 8.

Montash is a multi-award winning, global IT recruitment firm. Specialising in permanent and contract positions across mid-senior appointments which cover a wide range of industry sectors and IT functions, including:

With offices based in London, Montash has completed assignments in over 30 countries and has appointed technical professionals from board level to senior and mid-management in permanent and contract roles.

Archive

Social Stream

Infor, one of the global leaders in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, has revealed that it is launching a new mobile solution. The company, which has focused on developing specialised business applications for a variety of industries, unveiled Infor Mobility for Field Service (MFS). The solution is a comprehensive mobility application that can streamline operations for employees working in the field. To ensure that field technicians are provi...

With Google and Microsoft both already working on artificial intelligence (AI) software for their cloud services, it has been revealed that Amazon is now to join the battle. The internet giant is to prioritise developing AI for Amazon Web Services (AWS), the division that sells data storage and computing to IT professionals around the world. AWS is currently the fastest-growing division for Amazon, with the past year having seen sales soar by 60 per cen...